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Charity
Fraud – What You Can Do
Q:
Equine Legal Solutions has received an unprecedented
number of complaints about purported charitable
organizations. The claims range from adopters of
PMU horses who paid adoption fees and never received a
horse to individuals who have loaned large sums of money
to “rescues” that misappropriated the funds.
If you have been the victim of fraud, what can you do?
A:
If you believe you have been defrauded by a non-profit
organization (or someone pretending to have a charitable
purpose), ELS strongly urges you to file a
formal complaint with EACH of the following
organizations. You may achieve better and more
cost-effective results by filing criminal fraud
complaints rather than civil lawsuits (which are
time-consuming and costly). If you don't receive
satisfactory results within a few months after filing
your complaints, you may want to consider filing a civil
suit.
How
to File a Complaint
(1)
Be sure to follow the instructions on the relevant
website or telephone hotline.
(2)
Keep a record of each complaint that you file, including
the date and the name of any particular person that you
spoke with.
(3)
Be concise and factual in describing your complaint. It
is most useful to see facts outlined in a timeline
format - e.g., January 1, 2005 - [name of charity] sent
solicitation for donations to me via [email/mail];
January 15, 2005 - I sent check for [$ amount] to [name
of charity] at [address].
(4)
Don't submit the actual correspondence or documentation
until the agency asks for it - as a famous TV character
once said, "Just the facts, ma'am."
Where
to File a Complaint
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